Why India’s domestic reforms alone can’t combat air pollution

The ineffectiveness of India’s attempts to tackle domestic air pollution is undeniably illustrated by the haze that engulfs the Indo-Gangetic Plains every winter – briefly dominating public debate before fading into silence. While the government’s endeavours to implement ambitious schemes and local interventions should not be understated, the reality is that a sizable share of India’s unbreathable air is effectively imported via wind patterns from neighbouring states and countries. Unless India gives equal emphasis to the transboundary nature of this catastrophe, its efforts to address it will inevitably fall short.

Although most air pollution is attributed to local sources such as stubble burning, vehicular emissions, industrial smoke and urban dust, a World Bank report, Striving for Clean Air, stressed that the Indo-Gangetic Plain is a shared airshed. Emissions and dust from agriculture, transport and industry can travel hundreds of kilometres across municipal, state and even national borders. The report finds that around 30 per cent of Punjab’s air pollution originates in neighbouring Pakistan. It also notes that roughly 30 per cent of the population-level exposure to pollution in Bangladesh’s largest cities has its origins in India, carried by prevailing winds blowing from northwest to southeast.

Although most air pollution has been attributed to local sources such as stubble burning, vehicular emissions, industrial smoke and urban dust, a report by the World Bank titled Striving for Clean Air affirms that the Indo-Gangetic Plain is a shared airshed where emissions and dust particles from agriculture, transport and industry can travel hundreds of kilometres, crossing municipal, state and even national boundaries. 

The World Bank report stated that about 30 per cent of the air pollution in Punjab comes from neighbouring Pakistan and, furthermore, an estimated 30 per cent of pollution in Bangladesh’s largest cities originates in India due to the predominant wind direction from the north-west to the south-east.

Crucially, the report argued that improving air quality to reasonable levels is impossible under the current city-by-city approach used across South Asia. Even if Delhi — the world’s most polluted capital — were to implement all feasible control measures by 2030, it would still fail to meet the World Health Organization’s air quality interim target 1 unless neighbouring states and countries also act. 

Alarmingly, pollution inflow from these surrounding regions accounts for more than 50 per cent of Delhi’s particulate matter. Cooperation at regional, state and provincial levels is therefore non-negotiables in the battle to even remotely combat air pollution.

The limits of domestic policy

India’s air pollution policies have largely been confined within the constraints of domestic jurisdiction and serious limitations. The National Clean Air Programme’s (NCAP) recommendation to prepare regional action plans for states in the Indo-Gangetic Plain has been hindered by a lack of accountability and funding. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), established to manage air pollution in the National Capital Region (NCR), has authority only over a single airshed. This is worrying because the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) has repeatedly highlighted the necessity of coordinated actions across states and sectors, with an emphasis on broader airsheds rather than isolated urban centres.

The Air Quality Life Index 2025 report further underscores the constraints of domestic policy by foregrounding the reality that emissions from Bangladesh, Nepal, India and Pakistan collectively blanket South Asia with polluted air, with the Northern Plains of India being most devastatingly affected. The report conveys the grim reality that residents of these areas are losing life expectancy by roughly 3.5 years on average due to exposure to beyond-hazardous levels of PM2.5.

The way forward

CREA’s report on the governance of transboundary pollution in South Asia urgently calls for a robust regional approach that includes coordinated monitoring, harmonised air quality standards and joint enforcement mechanisms. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)’s Multi-Sectoral Action Plan for Air Pollution in Amritsar — which identifies the transboundary nature of pollution and urges coordinated efforts across health, urban planning, transport and agriculture — presents a sturdy model for integrated, cross-sectoral action. Its focus on stakeholder engagement and policies that tackle both local and regional sources of pollution necessitates the emulation of this UNDP framework.

Ombudsmen and policymakers in India must look beyond siloed, city-specific measures and work to strengthen legal and institutional frameworks for cross-border cooperation. This would enable bodies such as the CAQM to address other polluted airsheds beyond their immediate jurisdiction, ensure adequate funding, and support effective implementation and monitoring of accountability mechanisms.

The complex scenario of air pollution in India, if addressed through coordinated efforts, could potentially reduce mean exposure by 40 per cent, leading to significant economic and health benefits. Despite positive institutional steps, the problem will continue to persist — and worsen — without a regionally coordinated, multi-sectoral approach. The tangible benefits of such an approach are clear, and the costs of inaction are far too great to ignore.

Saaransh Mishra is a freelance author, consultant, and entrepreneur with over five years of experience in environmental policy, public health, international security, and trade. Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth